Assemblage 3.1 vs. EVS Millenium II DAC

You may want to speak with Ric Schultz at EVS directly, as he is nothing if not a straight shooter with information and you'll likely learn a lot about DAC design/implementation. All I know is I've had a Millennium DAC 1 in my system for a year and it is truly an open window on the performance. With the DAC II Ric has done a roto rooter thing and cleared out everything that could detract from the signal--he's even found a way to avoid using any op-amps in the unit. It may take a while to get one, but with a 30-day money-back guarantee you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying one. I haven't heard the Assemblage unit so I can't comment on it, but I'm sure it's a quality piece. I just wouldn't bet the farm on anything until I at least heard the DAC II, which by the way will be upgradeable to 2-channel sacd/dvd-a formats. Best of luck.

Tim

Thank you, Tim. I will give Ric a call.

Can comment on the EVS.The Assemblage dac 3.1 is magical.I prefer Viynl but if Digital is your bag the 3.1 is as good as it gets without spending double.

Cant comment on the EVS.The Assemblage dac 3.1 is magical.I prefer Viynl but if Digital is your bag the 3.1 is as good as it gets without spending double.
Sorry for the spelling mistake on previous post

My Millennium II is leaving Ric's shop next week. I hope it is as good as we've been expecting. Sean
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Sean,

Are you a new customer for Ric, or are you a customer who is upgrading from one of his previous DACs? I'm asking because I now have the DAC 1B, and is on the waiting list to upgrade my 1B to the II. Just want to know if Ric was getting closer to the upgrades. The DAC 1B is a very muscial, dynamic and transparent. A certain best buy for the money.

It's a new piece as i have never done business with him before. I'm just curious as to how it will stack up compared to a tube based DAC ??? I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see... Sean
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Hello, everyone. I talked with Ric the otheryesterday about the Millenium II DAC. I hope I don't get in trouble with Ric for posting this, but he actually recommends going with his newly upgraded Sony 9000es over the separate DAC unless your system requires use of a separate DAC. He stated that if of equal quality, the single box unit would always outperform a separate transport and DAC because of a "an unretrievable 10% loss of information b/t transport and DAC." This in light of the fact that he would make MUCH less money upgrading the 90000es vs. selling the MII. He doesn't have a firm price on the upgrade cost for the 9000es, but said it would be b/t $300-400. The 9000es can be had for $1150 to your door from www.oade.com. This is certainly something I will be pondering in the next few weeks. If anyone has comments on this topic, please jump in. I am desparately seeking your opinions and experiences.

Ric told me basically the same thing. He also told me that the Mill II might only last 6 months before he has the next version ready to go. Then again, his "6 months" would work out to be about 3 years in our time. I'm simply using the same conversion ratio of his estimate of getting us the Mill II "in about 2 months", which has turned out to be almost a year or so. On top of all this, he also said that his mods to the 9000ES are quite simple and not real elaborate. He didn't want to invest a lot of time "working" these as he is quite sure that there will be more suitable candidates available quite soon. Either way you go, it's strictly a "crapshoot". As mentioned, i should have my Mill II in about two weeks. I've got 30 days to decide whether i like it or not. Believe me, it will not get ANY resting time during that period. Sean
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